5.13.2011

Alas! They've traded in both the muppets and the crack of their last album, which was greatbut short, for one 80's synthesizer to sing along with softly for their fourth album. There are only a handful of songs that stand out before it turns into synth pop mush. I like the first song, second song, and the third which is the first single:

It's probably just me, but pop music made with synthesizers usually sounds terrible. For me, much of the 80's is a black hole of music, especially all the slow 80's songs.

Perhaps it's that synths are good at being synths and making electronic music, but when they're used to fill the exact spaces of conventional instruments, they enter the Uncanny Valley and the music sounds 'off'. The strange thing is that there's plenty of electronic music I do like. Perhaps after several years, which happened to be in and around the 80's, people figured out some good new things to do with electronics and electronic music split off with its own conventions.

Then again, it might just be an issue of art, in which case you either just like it or don't.

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Letters in Bottles began in January 2005 as "Letters in Bottles: The Island Pundit" at the University of Wisconsin. Started by Steve S, the blog includes a number of regular contributors, all of whom met originally on the "island" of Madison. We are: A veteran of the Iraq War. A former Peace Corps volunteer in the Caucasus. A law student in New Orleans. An Engineering grad student. We comment regularly on politics, world affairs, culture, news, music, and much more.